- Beacon Communications (publisher)
Infobox_Company
company_name =
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1969
location = 1944 Warwick Avenue,Warwick, Rhode Island 02889USA
key_people = John I. Howell Jr., publisher Richard G. Fleischer, general manager
industry =Newspaper s
products = Threeweekly newspaper s inRhode Island
homepage = [http://www.warwickonline.com/ warwickonline.com] |Beacon Communications is a privately owned
weekly newspaper publisher serving the suburbanRhode Island cities of Cranston, Johnston and Warwick.Begun in 1969 by John Howell and Anthony Ritacco, as a vehicle to purchase the "Warwick Beacon", the company was called Southern Rhode Island Publications until 1987. Howell took sole possession of the company in the 1980s.Properties
In addition to its three
weekly newspaper s, Beacon publishes the "Penny$aver" shopper in Cranston and Warwick; "ChamberWorks", a business publication; and "PrimeTime", a seniors-oriented monthly magazine.;"Cranston Herald" :Founded in 1922, the "Herald" was for a long time run by Rosalie Frost, a former
Rockette who in the 1930s became a groundbreaking female journalist. She sold the paper to Beacon shortly after 1973, when the company had started a competing weekly, "Cranston Today". The papers were merged under the "Herald" name. Today's "Herald" is a paid-subscription Thursday paper. [ [http://www.cranstononline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=184 CranstonOnline: History] , accessedMarch 8 ,2007 .] Today, Elizabeth Wayland Seal serves as editor while Howell remains as publisher.;"Johnston Sun Rise" :Beacon purchased the weekly "Johnston Sun Rise" in 2006.;"Warwick Beacon" :The company's flagship publication, the "Warwick Beacon", dates back toNovember 19 ,1953 . It switched from weekly to twice-weekly publication (currently Tuesdays and Thursdays) in the 1970s. [http://warwickonline.com/warwickonline/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=113 WarwickOnline: History] , accessedMarch 8 ,2007 .] Howell remains an active reporter for the paper. News tips can be sent to johnh@warwickonline.comSisters and competitors
In addition to the former "Cranston Today", the company has launched several other complementary products. Beacon founded the "Coventry Townsman" and "Seekonk Sentinel" in the early 1970s, later selling them to other owners; and "Newport Today" (now called "Newport This Week").
Beacon's papers compete with "
The Providence Journal " in the state's capital city, which borders Johnston and Cranston.All three Beacon newspapers are members of Rhode Island Newspaper Group, an advertising sales consortium that consists of five weekly newspaper publishers in suburban Providence. Beacon is the coordinating office for the group; other members are
Breeze Publications ,East Bay Newspapers ,Hathaway Publishing and Southern Rhode Island Newspapers. [ [http://www.rinewspapergroup.com RINewspaperGroup.com] , accessedMarch 24 ,2007 .]References
External links
* [http://www.cranstononline.com/ "Cranston Herald" Online]
* [http://www.warwickonline.com/ "Warwick Beacon" Online]
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